Rohit Sharma, Manish Pandey and Karn Sharma made the most of their
opportunities for India A while the Sri Lankans didn't have much to gain from the warm-up
one-dayer at the Brabourne Stadium.
With Sri Lanka deciding to give all fifteen members of their squad a go, the
match didn't have any statistical relevance. Still Rohit's innings showed that he has
recovered from his injuries while Pandey's and Karn's efforts in the comprehensive 88-run
victory will help push their case for national selection.
Rohit was playing his first match after being sidelined for 10 weeks due to a
finger injury on his right hand. Pandey was keen to justify his maiden call-up to the national
team, after being selected for the Twenty20 against West Indies, which was cancelled
following the withdrawal of the West Indians from the tour. Karn, on the other hand, was
desperate for a strong performance after losing his place in the limited-overs squad.
In these circumstances, Rohit's stay at the wicket for almost three hours and his
214-run second-wicket partnership off 166 balls turned out to be a morale-booster for the
batsman. Rohit opened the innings with Unmukt Chand and focused on spending time at
the wicket while his younger partner went after the Sri Lankans quicks.
While the Sri Lankans tried out 11 bowlers, none of them could find the right line
length. Chand took full toll on the pacers, using his favourite pull shot to good effect as he
took only 39 deliveries to race to his third successive fifty in a tour game. It was the same
shot which eventually proved fatal for Chand as he top-edged a catch to the keeper to give
Lahiru Gamage his first wicket on the tour.
In came Pandey and he started timing the ball sweetly from the first delivery he
faced. He and Rohit never allowed the scoring rate to drop below run-a-ball, as the Sri
Lankan bowlers struggled with their line and length. more >>
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